Hawks put up good fight before falling 2-0 to Warriors

CLICK HERE FOR GAME PHOTOS

By Darryl Mellema

Here's the first thing to make clear – Vanessa DiBernardo is not a ball hog.

If you watch Waubonsie Valley's girls soccer team play, she touches the ball about as frequently as any of the other Warriors.

She passes, makes runs for other players, gets back and defends – all the things you'd expect of a player.

But inside the penalty area, she rises to a completely different level – and when she hits the ball toward the net – magical things happen.

DiBernardo scored both goals on Thursday as Waubonsie Valley defeated Bartlett 2-0 in an Upstate Eight Conference contest in Aurora.

"I guess I'm always in the right spot at the right time," DiBernardo said. "We have been combining a lot as a team and that's really given us the opportunity to score a lot of goals."

DiBernardo scored Waubonsie Valley's first goal in the 19th minute of the first half.

Megan Green played a short ball from left-to-right near the end line and DiBernardo hit the ball toward the right side of the goal.

She doubled her team's advantage at nearly the same point of the second half.

Colleen Gorkis sent a left-wing cross that tipped off the top of Bartlett goalkeeper Erin Zaideman's gloves. The ball fell to DiBernardo, who scored at the far post.

"The assists that we're getting, they're really good," DiBernardo said. "All I had to do was make a run and touch it into the goal.

"Really, the team put the goals together and I was just there to touch it into the net."

While the Warriors (6-0-1, 3-0) dominated large stretches of the match, especially the second half, Bartlett (8-5, 2-2) played its part in making the match competitive.

"Coming into the match, we thought they were going to be difficult, and they were," DiBernardo said.

Offseason work done to improve Waubonsie Valley's field has not had the desired results.

"The field conditions obviously were not the best for either team," DiBernardo said. "So that played a big factor in the game. I think it's just a matter of getting used to it and then playing well as a team."

Without tremendous fanfare, Waubonsie Valley has gone undefeated through its first seven matches and now hosts Neuqua Valley in the annual Indian Prairie School District showdown. That Monday match starts at 6:30 p.m.

While the Warriors have scored plenty of goals – 21 through those seven matches, they have only surrendered two goals in 560 minutes of play.

"Our defense has been solid," Waubonsie Valley coach Julie Bergstrom said. "They go into every game with the same goal – no shots."

Bartlett had its best spell of attacking soccer in the closing stages of the first half.

And without getting a clear shot on goal, the Hawks had chances, including a Sam Barone free kick that went over the crossbar.

But as the second half opened, Waubonsie Valley found a more cohesive sequence of team play and Bartlett began to struggle.

"Halftime for us is our biggest demise," Bartlett coach Heather Thomas said. "It takes us so long to get back into it.

"If we could skip halftime, that'd be great. We can't, but we need to learn to be quicker off the ball and ready to play."

In recent years, Waubonsie Valley has been a measuring stick for most teams in the Upstate Eight. Thomas said she was pleased with the way her team never backed down from the conference front-runners.

"I'm happy we played 80 minutes today," Thomas said. "Unfortunately we lost our marks on the two goals they scored and they were goals scored by the girl we talked about hurting us the most.

"But I'm pleased. It was 2-0 against the top-ranked team not only in the state but in the nation."

Through that second half, Bartlett's attackers were increasingly frustrated as they attempted to find space or to forge any kind of shooting chance against a defense that was living up to its coach's goal of not allowing any shots.

"They did a good job of defending us," Thomas said. "Our No. 8 (Nicole Gobbo) is pretty quick, but they defended her very, very well and didn't give her an opportunity to move."

Had it not been for Zaideman in goal for the Hawks, Bartlett could have ended with a bigger defeat. The senior made a series of key saves, especially in the second half.

"She's totally our most solid player," Thomas said. "She's the most vocal, she encourages the most. She hustles the most. She does a really good job back there."

But Zaideman was unwilling to take total credit for her success.

"Our whole team was composed," Zaideman said. "I don't think I had any pressure.

"Most of us on our team have been playing (Waubonsie Valley) for four years and we're used to how they play. I think we played very well and were very composed."

There were still moments where Zaideman had to step up and make those saves.

"Yeah, but I also had my defense covering me up like usual," Zaideman said. "I'm really happy with how we played today compared with the last couple of games."

Bartlett takes nearly a week off before it hosts St. Charles North on Wednesday.

CLICK TO SEE HAWKS' TEAM PAGE

CLICK TO SEE HAWKS' PHOTO PAGE